Larger than life
by Meisae
Summary: Kagome is diagnosed with cancer and we follow her journey fighting something bigger than Naraku.
1. Burden

_**A/n:**_ _I've had this story in my mind for quite some time now. I got really inspired by a song called "Ally" by Danny Padilla who really helped me bring this story to life._

 _ **Disclaim:**_ _I do not own Inuyasha nor its characters, this is purely fan based._

 **Larger than life**

 **Chapter 1: Burden**

Kagome sat in silence, the world spinning around her. She could hear her breath reach her lungs, feel them expand a long moment before escaping through her lips. It was like her body was trapped in a vacuum. Muffled sounds pressed their way through the bubbles in her ears and she looked up. The doctor sat in front of her, a sad frown resting on his normal cheerful face.

His lips started moving again, but she couldn't make out what he was trying to convey. She watched as he leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees.

"Miss Higurashi…"

"Yes?"

"Do you want me contact your mom?"

She stared down at her hands who now were plain white after clenching her skirt to tightly. When had she started shaking?

Her mouth felt dry and the words lay heavy on her tongue "No, no I'm good, thank you"

The doctor sighed and rolled his chair back to his desk. He reached for a folder resting on the edge of it, which he clearly had prepared before the appointment. From it he pulled a sheet of paper before closing the folder once more and rolling back towards her.

"Here. We still need to run a couple of more tests but for now you should go home, you need some time to process this. Remember you can call at any time, we have night watch as well so don't hesitate to do so"

He handed her the sheet of paper and she took it with slight hesitation. She read the first couple of lines and made out her own name at the very top of it. A nightmare? The rest of the letters were dancing around the page refusing to make sense.

She felt a light tap on her shoulder and looked up suddenly noticing she was outside. The breeze brushed through her hair. It felt refreshing against her soaked neck where some of her hair had stuck to it. When had she left the office?

"Are you feeling alright, miss?"

An elderly woman stood by her a worried frown lingering on her face. Same as the doctors, she noted to herself. She felt like pinching her arm but knew it wouldn't help, nothing could wake her from this nightmare.

So, this was really happening.

"Yes, thank you, I'm fine" Kagome smiled and she wondered how many times she would have to lie and say she was fine from now on, before crossing the road as the final beeps of the traffic lights faded behind her.

Opening the door to her home the familiar scent of curry found its way to her nose. She quietly closed the door behind her and bent down to take of her shoes.

"Oh, you home already, dear?" Mrs Higurashi's voice sounded from the kitchen "What did the doctor say?"

Kagome felt a sudden tightness in her chest as her hand crumbled parts of the heavy piece of paper. Her mom appeared around the corner holding a cloth around a dripping dinner plate.

"Sweetie?"

Kagome quickly hid the paper behind her back "He said it was nothing to worry about, nosebleed was common around these seasons. He just wanted me to make sure I got enough rest"

Lies. Her chest tightened more as the stone in her throat grew larger.

"Well that's great news. I'm glad it was nothing you really had me worried" her mom smiled and kagome forced a smile.

"The dinner is ready in ten, could you get dad and Souta for me?"

The food was tasteless. She dug her fork deep into the rice letting it blend with the sauce watching the white absorb the new colour. Nosebleed. She had first noticed it when she had returned through the Well with Inuyasha a few months back. He had asked but she had shaken it off as nothing after all that wasn't the first time her nose had bled.

She closed her eyes and saw the letters still dance before her, mocking her.

But it had occurred more and more often after that incident. She had also felt persistent fatigue that had made it hard for her to even get out of bed in the morning, which she never had any trouble with before. After all there was no sleeping-in in feral era.

Around her she heard laughter and opened her eyes again to see her mom and brother laugh of something her grandpa must had said.

This could have been an ordinary day. Under other circumstances she would have laughed too.

But instead she felt the nausea creep up on her.

Why had she lied to her mom earlier?

She stared at her hardly touched plate. The crumbled paper in her pocked started burning against her thigh. She pushed her chair back excusing herself from the table and headed upstairs.

Shutting her door behind her she let her back slide down against it, collapsing on the floor. She pulled out the piece of paper and threw it against the wall before her and watched as it rolled to a halt in the corner.

She faced the ceiling, and suddenly noticed the star shaped spot close to the wall. How come she never noticed that mark before?

She heard footsteps in the hall downstairs and let her ear tiredly rest against the door.

"Is she alright?"

"Yes, the doctor said it was nothing to worry about, but that she needed rest"

"Don't you think she was rather silent this evening? very unlike her don't you think?"

"She probably has a lot to put her mind on, so we should just leave her be" Her mom's voice sounded so soft, but Kagome knew she had thought the same as him.

She let her knees come up to her chest as she buried her face in her arms. She had no idea how long she sat like that, but a knock broke her paralysation and looked up to find Inuyasha sitting outside her window, his face holding an apologetic mine.

Kagome got up and walked over unlocking the window letting the hanyou into her room. He jumped gracefully through landing soundless on her floor.

She still had her back facing him as the silence started to fill the gap between them.

"So…" he started, she could her the hesitation in his voice and turned towards him. He was now sitting on her bed, his arms crossed against his chest. "Sango and Miroku made it very clear that I couldn't come back until I had apologized to you…"

Apologize?

She stared at him and watched as a slight blush formed on his cheeks, but he didn't meet her gaze. When she didn't say anything, he let his hands fall to his lap, defeated "I was stupid, ok?" he murmured suddenly taking a great interest in her empty wall furthest from her.

"What do you mean?" her voice felt crisp against her throat after the long absence from talking. He looked at her thinking she was making fun of him. "You kidding me? Have you really forgotten about the fight already?" he sounded almost annoyed, like he had been battling himself for a long time before coming here.

They had fought? When?

The confusion in her eyes must have set Inuyasha off as he started scratching his neck looking rather confused himself.

How come she hadn't noticed what a beautiful shade of brown his eyes held?

She felt her chest tighten again and gripped her collar.

"You really can't remember?" his voice was low as he looked at her from the corners of her eyes.

She felt a stray tear escape down her face and Inuyasha immediately sat up desperation painted on his face.

"oh sorry" she apologized and quickly attempted to wipe it away, but another soon followed.

"How strange they don't seem to stop" she laughed but her hands were shaking.

They had fought 2 days ago she remembered now, over something stupid again. It felt like it had been in another life. A life where things were as normal as they could be. A life where that paper never had been printed.

She felt Inuyasha's hands grip around her wrists and she looked up at him.

Those lovely golden eyes meeting hers and more tears built up in the corners of her eyes.

"Inuyasha… I'm sick…" her words left her lips before she could stop them.

"Sick? What do you mean?"

"I thought it was nothing. I even laughed at mom who insisted on me getting it checked" Confusion lingered in his eyes, but a stern frown soon replaced it. His grip tightened slightly.

She let the air fill her lungs closing her eyes.

"I have cancer"

She knew far too well Inuyasha wouldn't know what that meant but telling him was finally accepting what the crumbled paper resting in the corner confirmed.

"Cancer?"

"Yeah they took some blood samples from me and they came back positive." Her words were close to whispers by now.

"What does that mean?"

She looked up at him taking in his frame, memorising his face, each strand of silver hair hanging loosely down his chest, his lovely eyes, his soft ears. His scent. His presence.

She smiled but deep inside she felt herself crumble like the paper.

Leukaemia. She had read about it in the past. She knew a classmate's friend's grandpa had died from it after fighting it half a year.

Looking at Inuyasha's now growing worry she shook it off. No, she refused to think like that. Nothing said for sure she wouldn't be able to fight through it. Truth is she was scared. She wanted to share it with someone, lighten the burden some. She wasn't scared of dying. She had been pretty close in the past fighting Naraku. What frightened her was leaving everyone behind. The suffering they had to go through because of her.

She led her hand up to his face making him loosen his grip slightly, clearly taken aback by her sudden action. She brushed his bangs softly with her fingers before letting her hand linger on his cheek. He stared at her in confusion like he had a thousand words to say to her but didn't know how to start.

"it means I need a lot of rest" she smiled again sincere this time, feeling the weight on her chest lifting some.

No, she wouldn't let this beat her.

For the sake of everyone she would be strong and fight this.


	2. Rain

_**A/n:**_ _Thank you really for the positive feedback I got on the first chapter it really helps keeping my motivation up :)_

 **Larger than life**

 **Chapter 2: Rain**

A couple of months had passed. Kagome had gathered enough courage to tell her mom and the rest of her family. Her mother had been sad Kagome hid it in the first place, but she had forgiven. The evening had been filled with tears and laughter.

She knew they tried their best to be strong for her sake, and even if she knew they might be crying when she didn't look, it made it more liveable now that she didn't have to carry her burden alone.

Inuyasha had been there the entire time, supporting her. She had found strength in his comfort.

Kagome had already started her treatment session and visited the hospital for regular for check-ups. To her surprise and joy she had been allowed to stay home as long as she kept herself from larger groups as she would be more vulnerable to bacteria from others.

The first month had been the hardest as her body needed to get used to the drugs getting injected in her veins. Her body had resisted for a very long time and she would vomit on daily basis several times a day. But she had stayed positive, she knew this was to help her get better. Then again, she swore to the gods that once this was all over she would stay as far away needles as possible.

When her body finally had seemed to accept the drugs, things had turned to the worse. They were having dinner the first time it had happened. She had suddenly suffered from intense cough shielding her mouth with the corners of her arm. She had collapsed on the floor blood trails lingering on her shirt and sleeve.

From there she started spending more and more time in bed and weaker with every day passing. Her positivity faded with her energy and this affected her family as well. She could tell their smiles no longer reached their eyes. Even by not looking at them.

Today was no different.

She had, to her surprise, received one of the hospital beds to have in her room, which were now placed alongside her window making it possible for her to look outside and enjoy some sun from time to time. They have had to move her own bed to her grandpa's room to make room for it. Kagome had protested at first, but now she was thankful for this bed. She could regulate it as she pleased, making it possible for her to sit up and still get the support behind her back.

By her bed rested flowers and chocolate boxes her friends had left behind for her after the visit. They were mad that she never could live a healthy life, wishing that the sickness would go mess around with someone else that deserved it more. She needed to experience her youth while she was still young.

She had laughed at this but felt guilty for always lying to them. If they had only knew what she had been up to while they thought she lay home sick in bed. This time was different, she knew that.

It was a beautiful day; the rain season had just ended and left the air moist and warm. A slight breeze found its way through the small gap in her window, brushing her raven looks across her chest and face. She closed her eyes, letting the fresh air fill her lungs. She really missed them.

She wondered if they thought of her as much as they crossed her mind. Sango. Miroku. Shippo. Kirara. Kaede. Ayame. Koga. Master Miyoga. Rin. Jaken. She laughed slightly. Yes, even Sesshomaru.

"I really hope it's me who make you smile like that"

Her eyes popped open and fell on Inuyasha resting outside her window. His was leaning his chin in his crossed arms at the frame of the window. She laughed and grabbed one of her free pillows smacking it in the direction of his head. Inuyasha easily parried it with his hand and smiled.

Their relation had slightly changed the couple of months. Inuyasha had started to visit more often and he showed his care even with others around. She had lost count of how many times she had cried against his shoulders. Not to forget how many times he had been there for her at her worst, holding her hair as she vomited.

She felt his eyes on her always, never averting his eyes. Never disgusted.

When she had sat down with him telling him what leukaemia did to the body and had watched as his eyes as they had gone from confusion and anger to realization and sadness. He had left her without a word and she had let him go.

She had cried herself to sleep that night so many unfinished questions lingering in her head. How would she tell her mom? Her friends? Would they react like Inuyasha and pull away? She felt more alone than ever.

When she had woken the day after she had found herself in his arms. He had apologized for leaving her like that, saying he had to know for sure. He had gone to talk with Totosai about his mother. He had explained to her then that his mom probably had suffered from what Kagome now currently had. He hadn't known then, he had been too little to understand, but now it all made sense to him.

He had brought some herbs that he remembered his mother using in her tea to calm the cough and relax the body, which in fact had made a great difference. She had discovered later on that those type of herbs was nowhere to be found anymore. It was an extinct herb that only could be found in the past. Inuyasha had taken the task upon himself to always make sure she had enough.

He would also deliver messages from Sango and the rest, where they wished she would get better soon as they really missed her. The messages had always encouraged her to fight harder.

"How are you feeling today?" Inuyasha failed to hide the worry in his tone, she couldn't really blame him.

"Been worse, but if I spend another minute in this bed I think I might lose it" She joked and was happy that he returned he was returning her smile.

"Should we go outside?"

"Can you?"

"Yeah it should be fine. It will only benefit me so don't worry" don't worry was a sentence she had come to overuse these days, and yet she knew it was for granted.

"Just let me get dressed and I'm ready to go. Would you mind turning around a bit?" He did without hesitation but remained where he was. Kagome smiled before sliding out of bed. She felt her legs give away under her, but she quickly caught herself as she put one leg in front of the other. It had been a while since she walked on her own, she always had help when she needed to use the bathroom.

Today the dizziness wasn't as crazy and for once she didn't feel like throwing up like so many of the other times. No, today she would finally go outside. Be with Inuyasha under better circumstances. She smiled at this and stepped out of her light-blue night pants unbuttoning her matching shirt. She pulled out a navy-blue sweatshirt and matched it with a light-yellow skirt that reached her knees.

She looked at herself in the mirror before reaching for a bare spot she knew would be there. She remembered how scared she had been, waking up that morning only to find large parts of her hair gone from her head resting on her pillow. The scream had left her lungs before she could think. Inuyasha had stormed through her door immediately, probably skipping every step in the staircase in 1 go. He had looked from her to the hair then back at her again, his eyes matching her horror.

Embarrassed and vulnerable she had hidden herself and her bundle of hair under the blanket, calling for him to look away. Calling for him to leave.

But he didn't.

And he remained by her bed, seated with his back facing her listening as her quiet sobs died out eventually. As time passed she had crawled out from under her blanket, her eyes red and swollen. He gave her room to breathe and she was thankful for that. She had known that she might come to lose her hair cause of the drugs, but to experience it was something entirely different from reading and hearing about it.

She used her fingers to comb her hair back in a loose ponytail reaching for a hairband at the corner of her desk. She adjusted her hair some to cover the spot the best way possible. Looking at herself in the mirror she nodded. She looked like an ordinary girl now. An ordinary girl in desperate need of sun.

"Jupp, then I'm good to go!" she boosted and Inuyasha glanced over his shoulder and snickered. He was one of the few, she noted, one of the few who gave her a sincere smile.

As they made their way down the steps outside she took in the fresh air, the birds singing around her, the cars passing bellow minding their own. She couldn't remember the last time she had been outside, but this time was already a winner.

Inuyasha had offered to carry her but Kagome had declined. She got treated like a patient on daily basis. Today she wanted to be normal. Inuyasha took no offence in this.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs she pulled out the mouth-cover her mother had handed her before they left. She was clearly against Kagome leaving the house, but she saw how much her daughter wanted and needed this, so she understood. She relaxed more while knowing Inuyasha would be there with her all the way.

They had passed an ice-cream bar in the streets and decided to start their day out the best way possible. They had ordered a large plate of strawberry and vanilla flavoured Ice-cream with fresh strawberries and thin flakes of freshly made chocolate spread over the plate. Inuyasha had seemed to enjoy the most as his entire face soon were covered by it.

She had laughed so much her stomach had threatened to suicide, but she would take this pain a thousand times over compared to the hell she had been living the past year.

They eventually decided to rent a bike, well it was more Kagome's idea as Inuyasha had bad experience with bikes in the first place. He was now seated in his signature posture at the back of her bike, his back resting against hers.

She watched the different people passed her by as she drove through town. So many in a hurry rushing to reach here and there on time. Reach the train, reach work, reach school. She wondered if that's how she had looked before all of this. Not stopping to appreciate the way the sun was reflected after a rainy day, missing out on the elderly woman at the corner saying hello to everyone that passed her, not expecting anything back. Not taking a moment to truly breathe.

She blinked as a drop of water hit her nose and reached for the wet spot. She halted the bike stretching her hand out. Another then another.

"Hm? Why are we stopping?" Inuyasha had jumped of the bike and were now standing next to her looking from her hand to her face.

"Rain" she said simply as she let her eyes rest on the sky. Inuyasha opened his mouth to say something but got interrupted by a loud crack as the heavens opened above them. Inuyasha cursed under his breath and grabbed Kagome by the wrist pulling her after him, leaving the bike to crash into the sidewalk, water already gathering in small pounds under it.

Kagome couldn't stop laughing as she felt her hair stick to her forehead as the tail swayed dangerously behind her. The rain splashed around them as they ran. She watching as people ran past them their arms above their head holding anything that might shelter them from the rain, but to Kagome it was eye opener. She had never felt freer.

She felt the security holding her mask in place slip off her ear, and soon felt it leave her other as well. It landed in one of the many pounds, absorbing the dirty water, but she didn't give it a second thought. She was happy to get rid of it.

Inuyasha dragged her into one of the bus shelters and they to finally came to a halt. They were both out of breath but kagome was the only one leaning on her knees still laughing.

"That… was great!" she breathed as she got up stroking her soaked bangs backwards clearing the water from her forehead and eyes.

Inuyasha stared at her from the corners of his eyes using his sleeve to wipe his mouth, his eyes holding a mix of awe and something else she couldn't fully place. As if suddenly remembering, he let go of her wrist a slight blush forming on his cheeks. He looked away as he dug his fingers through his wet hair letting parts of his hand rest on his forehead. His breath was still uneven, but it calmed faster than hers.

She suddenly felt the familiar soft texture of his haori brush her skin as he threw it over her head. She protested placing her hands on his wrists, but he was to strong.

"H-hey!" She felt her hair being pulled in every direction and her ponytail got looser and loser with each drag and rub in Inuyasha's attempt to.

She managed to squish her head to an opening, but her head was still dizzy from all the shaking. "Relax! I can dry myself you kno-" She halted as her eyes met his lovely golden ones. He bore a sad frown and kagome felt a sharp sting through her chest. His hands had halted and were now resting partly on her shoulders, holding his haori loosely on each side of her face. His thumbs barely brushing her jaw.

She wanted to say something, anything, but her mouth felt dry. Her heart rising by each passing second.

Her eyes widened as he suddenly leaned in. By instinct her hand shot up pressing it against his lips as he were only inches from hers. Her heart drummed through her chest, the rain around them muted by her pulsing ears.

"S-sorry" she breathed not meeting his gaze.

"You shouldn't. We don't know what will happen with me in the future, Inuyasha… I don't want that pain on you"

He said nothing and after another passing moment he pulled back. She cursed herself. She wanted nothing but being loved by him all this time, but she didn't know what might happen in 1 days' time, a week, a month. Nothing was certain. She didn't want him to relive another ' _Kikyo'_

Suddenly she felt her hand being pulled to the side in a tight grip as his soft lips collided with hers. She gasped and took a step backwards finding herself trapped against the glass wall behind her. His hand was on her cheek now, fingers entangled in her messy hair as his thumb caressed her jawbone.

She didn't fight it this time as her eyes closed a stray tear sliding down her face as she kissed him back.

God was cruel, she thought as her hand found their way to his chest, her fingers digging into his shirt.

Why her? More stray tears left her eyes but Inuyasha was there to brush them all away. Why her…

As they broke apart, Inuyasha let his forehead rest against hers letting his fingers slide between hers as they locked around her hand. They stood like so another moment till she finally dared opening her eyes staring straight into his. Normally she would have averted her eyes but nothing she did these days were normal.

"I want to live it with you" His eyes locked her in place as he spoke

"W-what?" her voice was more shaken than she first had thought it would be.

He smiled down at her letting his nose brush lightly against hers. "Your future" he murmured as he stroked his thumb against the back of her hand "I want to live it with you"

It took a moment for her to process his words, but her eyes soon started filling with fresh tears. He laughed softly and smiled sadly down at her. "You look like a mess"

Her tears were falling freely now, and she did nothing to stop them. Her chest felt so warm. He wanted to be with her. He wanted to stay by her even through this.

The sun was setting when they were on their way home, hand in hand. Her eyes were still greatly swollen, but her tears had dried out. She would glance over at him from time to time thinking how much he had changed, how much he had grown. He looked over at her meeting her eyes and smiled.

"Can we stop by the temple first?" She asked as she looked in the opposite direction of her home.

"Temple? What for?" He looked in the direction she was facing. When she didn't reply he just looked at her for a short moment before bending down. Kagome was thankful that he didn't push the subject and climbed onto his back without a complaint. She felt exhausted. But she needed to do this before returning home.

Inuyasha landed gracefully on the stone plateau outside the temple. He let kagome off his back and watched in silent as she made her way over to the large rope hanging from the bell above. She rang it a couple of times before clapping her hands together twice closing her eyes. After a long moment, she finally turned and walked towards Inuyasha who stood patiently waiting with his hands in his sleeves. He smiled at her and walked over to meet her halfway.

God was cruel, but she would try to be strong enough to shelter her loved ones from the path laid out for her.


End file.
